We kicked Bono's arse': Atomic Kitten on how they made Whole Again (with a little help from Kraftwerk)

"Radio 2 wouldn't play the song and Woolworths wouldn't stock it. I thought: I'm functioning with one arm tied behind my back. So my friend Karl Bartos of Kraftwerk said: Why don't you create a girl band as a vehicle for your songs? I arranged to meet Kerry Katona, and she came bouncing into the studio and proceeded to show us the topless photographs she'd just had taken."

"She wasn't the greatest singer, but she was like Marilyn Monroe: she didn't know how engaging and beautiful she was. She was also the band's choreographer. And I knew she would put her head through a brick wall to be famous, because she'd had such a difficult life and thought being rich and famous would change everything."

"Whole Again started as an electronic ballad until Stuart said: This isn't working. Give me a day and I'll turn it into a modern gospel song. He made the drums more like Killing Me Softly by the Fugees, and put in bass and organ. Suddenly, it had a completely different feel."

OMD's Andy McCluskey, facing radio and retail rejection for 1996's 'Walking on the Milky Way' due to being perceived as an outdated 80s synthpop band, was encouraged by Kraftwerk's Karl Bartos to create a girl band. McCluskey recruited Kerry Katona, Liz McClarnon, and Natasha Hamilton, each bringing unique qualities—Katona's star potential and choreography, McClarnon's emotionally powerful voice, and Hamilton's exceptional vocal range. 'Whole Again' evolved from an electronic ballad into a modern gospel-influenced track after drummer Stuart Kershaw's intervention, featuring Fugees-inspired drums and organic instrumentation. The production required meticulous work, including 39 takes of Katona's spoken verse across months due to vocal changes from tonsil surgery.

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